You're My brother
by writersblock4494
Summary: Stiles has always felt like he had a brother looking out for him. He knew deep down that there was somebody protecting him at his weakest moments. Not physically, Scott did that, but emotionally. Jump into 'You're My brother' and join Stiles as he uncovers his family's past. Stiles' brother is exciting but will he be able to handle the world he's about to fall into? Twin!Stiles
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Wolf.

Just real quick before you start, this is a multi-chapter book that focus's on stiles and his OC twin, it also focuses on the Scott/Stiles Bromance. Takes place in both preseason one, and interim season 3. Beta'd by my awesome cousin.

Prologue

John's speed was slowly accelerating as he made his way through Beacon Hills Memorial Hospital. He was still dressed in his full deputy's gear and his partner was 10 paces behind, attempting to keep up without sprinting. John swiftly and smoothly made his way around the nurses, patients, and doctors crowding the halls. The deputy, on the other hand, was not as smooth. He lost sight of John at a T-way section in the hallway. Rounding the corner John's eyes fixed on a nurse standing by the front desk of the maternity ward.

"John, John," Melissa, the nurse, called successfully trying to catch John's attention.

"Am I late?" John inquired when he reached Melissa.

"Almost, come on follow me. I'll take you to her," Melissa answered leading John into the maternity ward. His partner decided to stop in the waiting room, he waved John and Melissa off to let them know he was going to stay behind. John and Melissa continued through the doors to the maternity ward. He took a seat, slightly winded from the excitement. The nurse working the front desk exchanged smiles with him as they both watched the swinging doors stop and close.

Melissa caught a glimpse of John's face, his smile beamed with a joyful brightness that all passers by recognised as the face of an expecting new father. Melissa knew this, what had caught her attention though were his eyes. They were heavy with something, it was neither glee nor happiness. It was worry, a worry she understood in more ways than one, as the nurse who had been with them through all the check ups, and as an expectant mother herself, she understood.

"John. Breathe," Melissa advised as they neared the delivery room.

"Melissa. It's early, it's really early." The weight in John's eyes deepened as he spoke.

"John, it is common for twins to be born early; your doctors have been preparing you and Claudia for this," Melissa attempted to sooth John's nerves. John could hear screams coming from the delivery room, he pulled ahead of Melissa. Right before opening the doors and walking in, he faced no one in particular and thought out loud "But 28 weeks...is really early."

John's focus was now fully on his wife, Claudia. He sees her face distort in pain as she cries out. Beads of sweat soak her normally smooth, straight, dark, brown hair causing it to curl. His eyes traveled down the standard issue gown to her fingers, which grasped the sterile blue sheets so tight that her knuckles turned white. His senses tangle as he breathed in the scent of latex mixed with the starch iron smell of blood.

He immediately rushes to his wife's side and stands by her, hand in hand as her screams intensified and her grip strengthened. John took note of the extra equipment around the room, most of which was precautionary, in the event the steroids did not work and the newborn's lungs were still under developed. His eyes shifted from the focused Obstetrician delivering his baby, to the group of nurses preparing for arrival of the first baby. His focus abruptly shifted when a cry filled the room.

"It's a boy," The doctor announced.

John watched the Obstetrician as he handed the infant to a nurse. Claudia was breathing heavily preparing for the next infant. John and Claudia both watched the nurse follow explicit directions from the doctor as she prepped the child for an incubator. The first child was now secure in a machine. This process only took five minutes before all attention was back on Claudia.

"John?" Claudia looked back and forth between her baby and her husband.

"It's alright, our doctors warned us, we are prepared for this remember?" John's demeanor was strong for his wife, but his mind was just as worried, his thoughts just as cumbersome with fear.

John and Claudia's hearts both dropped when they saw the second child in the hands of the doctor, he didn't say anything. He immediately moved to a warming table and began resuscitation. Melissa ran over with a ventilator and aided him.

"Oh god, John what's happening?" Claudia's breathing was increasing and her voice deteriorated while she watched her son be resuscitated. John locked eyes with his wife and gripped her hand with security. Less than 20 seconds after delivery and before John could even reply, a cry came from the direction of the medical staff.

"It's a boy," The doctor was happy, the worry was fading as he turned to face the couple. He and the nurses put the second newborn in another incubator. The doctor began explaining everything to Claudia and John.

The incubators were rolled out of the room and on there way to NICU. Claudia was all cleaned up, and it was her, her husband, and Melissa in a new room. John's face was exhausted with worry and fear, his composure was being held together by a strong need to remind his wife everything's going to be fine. He tried hard to not show worry, right now he needed to be a strong anchor for his wife. Claudia on the other hand was terrified. The doctor was not very soothing when he explained the was left attempting to calm the nerves of the new parents.

"April 8th," Melissa smiled as she looked at Claudia, attempting to help ease her mind. Claudia's face showed slight confusion.

"Today is April 8th, Claudia, today you are the mother of two beautiful boys." Melissa turned the mood of the room into a more positive aura. Claudia worried complexion warmed as the thought settled in. She and John looked at each other with growing smiles.

"We are parents," John's marveled, his smile bright and with a single tear of over joy streaming down his face. He leaned down and kissed his wife.

"We're parents." Claudia confirmed. Melissa's hand went to her belly, she watched knowing that soon she would be feeling that way. She was almost through her second trimester.

John took the next day off from work. The doctors keep Claudia in the hospital overnight, stating she would be ready to go in the morning. They Explained her sons would be in NICU for no more that two weeks if all went well. And that they would be in their cribs at home before the end of the month.

For that two weeks, Claudia only left the hospital once. She went with Melissa to pick out any items she might need for her sons when they were released. The Mickey and Goofy set of baby blankets and the dinosaur pajamas she received at her baby shower were the first things that came to mind when she made her mental list. She knew the list would grow quickly and she didn't want to risk John forgetting anything. John didn't blame her either, baby supplies were not his forte.

"So have you given them names yet?" Melissa asked Claudia, their friendship has grown considerably through the past few months.

"Well the oldest, we decided on Genim"

"Do explain?" Melissa was confused as to the name.

"It's a family name, its meaning is rich in determination, focus, while also being very active minded and free roaming" Claudia Explained.

"And your youngest?" Melissa asked. Still thinking on Claudia's previous description.

"Scott." Claudia stated proudly. Melissa face was slightly confused.

"Does it have a meaning?" Melissa asked.

"Well I named Genim and John named Scott, explained to me, the name Scott creates a caustic expression and moods which prevent harmony and happiness in close association. Overall there is a tendency to worry." Claudia explained thoroughly.

"Well thats very fitting then." Melissa commented, the mood was not as light as before but there was still a warmth in Claudia's expression.

"It was well thought out on his part, and also very subtle. Which by all means, is John," Claudia's mood returned to a bright one.

"Come, we got what we need, lets head back" Melissa helped Claudia up.

"Wait, let me just give John a call and let him know we are on are way." Claudia insisted. She looked for her phone with no luck, she turned to Melissa with a playful plead on her face.

"I think you left it at the hospital, remember you asked John to plug it into the charger." Melissa replied.

"Oh right, can I borrow yours?" Claudia requested nicely.

"Yeah, of course" She pulled her phone out and flipped up the screen. "Oh, crap, It died." Melissa stated, dropping her head with an apologetic smile while showing Claudia the phone.

"Well hope he doesn't need anything else." Claudia stated while picking up the baby bag.

Meanwhile, John was standing in the NICU staring back and forth between his two sons. Genim was doing strong and there was high hopes for him. Scott however was not in good shape. John watched the heart monitor for Scott and focused on the green dot as it made its bumpy way across the screen.

"Any changes?" A nurse asked warmly walking into the room. John was only slightly startled as his attention refocused on the nurse.

"Nothing," He replied throwing his hand in the air slightly to point to his kids. The nurse walked over to another incubator two down from Scott's. She grabbed a clipboard from a rack that was attached to the incubator and read. His eyes shifting from the board to john and back.

"We will just have to get a good eye on him then, won't we?" The nurse smiled. John grabbed at Scotts clipboard, he looked it over as he sat in a chair in between his sons.

"Yeah we…" John was cut of when a set of standing beeps filled the room. His son's heart rate went flat, along with the other child the nurse was checking. He dropped the clipboard as his heart fell. The nursed pressed a button on the wall. Before he could even comprehend the scene, a rush of doctors and nurses had both incubators in a room at the end of the hall. The nurse that first walked in was standing by John the whole time. After the room quieted down and cleared she grabbed the clipboard from the floor along with the one she originally had. John looked up at her before running to the hallway, he couldn't breathe. The nurse looked at the clipboards with confusion before her eyes widened, she quickly headed toward the room with the incubators.

John pulled his phone out and called his wife. He could hear the phone ringing from the room he just left. "Claudia, why didn't you take your phone." John let out with frustration before he began punching in Melissa's number. It went straight to voicemail. "No, No, Pickup. Melissa this is John, pickup." He left her a message before heading down the hall towards the entrance of the wing.

The nurse with the two clipboards opened the door to the room that the incubators were in. She saw the doctors working intently on the two infant boys. The scene was an organised mess of nurses and doctors handing different equipment back and forth. A set of piercing beeps still setting the tone. After sever delicate presses to one of the infants backs one of the beeps change, returning back to a beat, slowly increasing frequency, and normalizing. The other heartbeat was still flat. The nurse set each clipboard down and began to aid the doctors.

"John?" A familiar doctor found John pacing by the entrance thirty minutes later. John looked up and focused on the doctor.

"John, maybe we should go somewhere a little more private." The doctors tone gave john goosebumps, he knew something was wrong.

"No, No, Please tell me he's, Oh god no" John's composure was failing with each attempt to form a sentence.

"John, I'm sorry." The doctor had a hand on John's shoulder now. The words pierced Him like icy daggers.

"We did everything we could, we just…" The doctor paused when John fell into one of the waiting room chairs. His gaze glossed as he focused his eyes on a tile directly in front of his feet.

"John, I'm sorry" The doctor left him when John emotionlessly waved him off. The doctor walked away.

Claudia and Melissa walked in a few moments later chuckling at a joke Melissa had made just prior to walking in.

"Hey John, what are you doing down h…" Claudia stopped dead when John looked up at her, his face was hard as a stone, his eyes watered as several tears fell down his face. Claudia dropped the bag of baby supplies she had brought. Melissa looked back and forth between the two, Claudia moved to John. Melissa went to the desk to get more information.

"John…" Claudia's voice was weak and barely audible.

"Claudia" John replied, standing to hug her tightly. She collapsed into him, her knees giving out. She cried heavily into John's shoulder.

"Claudia, the doctors they...I...I was standing right there...He was fine...then...it happened so fast...and the doctors, the did everything they...they could" John stumbled, looking for the words, looking for the strength he had the day Genim and Scott were born, looking for something.

"Why, god, why?" Claudia's voice cracked under the weight of the heart wrenching news.

Melissa, watched them from the desk, tears streaming down her face. The doctor showed her Scott's Clipboard. She read it. Time of death: 3:07 pm, April 22nd.

"Oh god," She gasped as she keep reading. Cause of death: Neonatal respiratory distress syndrome. "Doctor, this can't be true though, its been two weeks, deaths by NRDS happen usually within 2-7 days?" Melissa looked to the doctor with disbelief. She wanted to Give Claudia and John some sort of closure she could give Claudia and John. "I'm sorry Melissa, I don't know what to say, the results are undeniable."

Genim was ready to go two days later. He was released in time to attend his brothers funeral. The scene was very morbid. Claudia sat in a full black conservative dress and heels. Her face was covered by a light mesh. She held her son in her arms, wrapped snuggly in a blanket. Genim's eyes were closed, he was asleep through most the proceedings. John sat next to his wife, in a 3 piece simple black suit. His face seemed emotionless. He sat staring forward at the small wooden coffin in front of him. Melissa sat with her husband, to Claudia's right.

A Minister spoke sweet words to the grieving crowd. They stared almost blankly at the casket. John almost didn't hear the Minister call him to say a few words. Redirecting his attention, John stood and stepped forward.

"They say a mother becomes a mother the day she knows she's pregnant, and a father becomes a father the day he holds his child for the first time." John started. "I never actually got to hold Scott" A strain could be heard in his voice. "But a saying is just that, a saying. Scott was my son, my baby boy, and I was his father." John fought back the lump in his throat. "I'm not going to get the chance to watch Scott grow old and see him develop into a man. It hurts deeply when I think of that. I won't get to be the father of the year to Scott. But, to keep going I need to be strong, we need to be strong together." John felt the lump subside slightly as he looked at his wife. "We need to be strong for ourselves, for each other, and for Genim." John's speech was now directly focused at his wife. He walked up to her, looking down at Genim and placing a kiss on his forehead. " I will be the strongest I can be. I'll be the best father I can be. I'll be twice the dad." John was talking to Genim now. Standing up now, and returning his attention to the small crowd of close family and friends. "I will always have two sons. And although, one will not be here with me, I will always hold enough love in my heart for both of them. By this time the casket was full lowered into the ground. John leaned down to grab a handful of dirt, throwing it into the hole.

It was hard at first. John and Claudia were grief stricken. They powered through the next few weeks, caring for their son to the best of their ability through these tough times. They had decided at the wake that they were not going to tell Genim about his brother until he was older. Their friends and family supported the decision.

After several weeks, John and Claudia were fully adjusted into what would be their new normal life. They had a happy healthy son, and while they would never forget their loss, they had moved on. In the following weeks, the Stilinski's attention turned to their closest friends the McCall's. Melissa and Her Husband Ralph would be due for their baby soon. In honor of Scott, Claudia gave Melissa permission to name her son Scott when asked.

Scott was born on August 23rd, a healthy baby boy with no causes for concern. Minus his slightly uneven jaw line, Scott was a picture of a perfect delivery and newborn. With the birth of Scott, Claudia and John Stilinski, and Raphael and Melissa McCall become very close family friends. Genim and Scott spent a lot of time together from that point on.

Little did the new happy families know, the loss that had played such a big part in their lives was not really a loss at all.


	2. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Still don't own Teen Wolf

Just real quick, one thing, part way through the story I catch up to modern time so I briefly described seasons 1-3a, it's literally just a summary of canon events and skipping it won't hurt the over all story. I took the liberty of starting and ending that section with ** so if you don't want to read it, than just skip that section. the section isn't that long, I just used it to gap the time without needing a new chapter. Thank you to my awesome cousin for beta'ing

Chapter One

As kids, Scott and Genim were not as close friends as they grew to be, while they did spend a considerable amount of time with each other, it was only when they were not at school. Scott fell into a friendship with several of the more active kids like Jackson and Danny. Genim however fell more into the academic friend circle. He spent recess in the classroom with one Lydia Martin, well 'with' was a bit of a stretch. They both stayed in to work on things, but she had never really noticed him, which was good for him, because it would be weird if she noticed how much he stared at her. During school, that was their friendship and for the most part it remained divided up until the bell rang, then Scott and Genim walked to Genim's house. Scott preferred Genim's house over his when he started noticing his parents fight more often.

That routine quickly changed when Scott collapsed one recess. Jackson and Danny, unsure of what to do, just watched Scott as his breathing became heavy and uneven. Genim looked out the window and saw a crowd forming on the field, he wasn't sure why and pointed it out to a nearby teacher. That teacher, along with several others, quickly ran over to the crowd, Genim followed suit.

Scott couldn't play with Jackson and Danny as much after that learned he had asthma, therefore he could no longer keep up with his friends pace. Scott found himself following Genim to class once or twice a week during recess.

Genim, learned something new about himself in that time as well. After several incident reports to his parents from his teacher, Claudia and John took Genim to the doctors and he was diagnosed with ADHD. His birthday present that year involved orange pills and a few doctor visits. After which, Genim became the weird kid who had to leave class twice a day, every day to get his pill from the nurse. By this time, Scott and Genim spent a lot of time together, more so than in the previous weeks, however nothing brought Scott and Genim more together than the events that transpired in the first months their First Grade.

Scott was gone for the summer, he and his dad went to Washington D.C. to which Genim was incredibly jealous. A lot had happened to Genim that summer.

When Scott got back from D.C. alone, his dad stayed in D.C. for 'training', he was greeted by a enthusiastic Genim.

"Dude where'd your hair go" Scott was ecstatic when he saw Genim waiting for him in the terminal with his father. So much so that he let go of the attendants hand a ran in for a hug.

"My hair? look at yours, it all girly" Genim retorted, hugging back.

"New styles." Scott offered with a lot of enthusiasm, Genim liked that explanation. He really liked it. however he was not as happy as Scott, something was clearly bothering him, but he tried to cover it up.

"Hey Genim, what's up?" Scott spent the next ten minutes asking warmly before he finally got Genim to explain everything.

On the car ride to Scotts house, Genim explained to Scott how his mother had gotten very sick, and that she had to shave her head so he shaved his to match. Scott offered a hug, saying everything would be alright. Genim managed to get the two on to the topic of explaining Scott's vacation, he didn't want to talk about his mom. Scott explained how his dad had to stay behind for FBI training and that he would be gone for a few months. He explained that his dad didn't have time to take him to get a haircut, and that he started liking the long hair.

Scott and Genim reached Scotts house where, after being hugged to death by his mom, they retreated to Scotts room to play video games and catch up some more. John stayed with Melissa and talked for a bit.

"FBI training?" John asked.

"Do you really want to talk about this?" Melissa replied, implying that it would be long.

"Shoot, Claudia told me I'm not allowed to mope around the hospital all day and said I'm not allowed back until tomorrow." John pulled up a chair at the bar.

"How is Claudia, I haven't been over to see her in a couple days?" Melissa asked concerned.

"The doctors are keeping a very close eye on her, they recently increased the dosage," John was worried.

"I'm sorry to hear that. John, Claudia is a strong woman. You know that and I know that. She'll pull through," Melissa comforted.

"Yes she will.." John started with a smile "Now, what about you and Ralph?" He finished.

"He left. We filed the paperwork right before he left to D.C. with Scott. We are over." Melissa stated bluntly.

"My God, did you tell Scott? He thinks Ralph will be back in a few months," John asked.

"I know, I'll tell him. I just need to figure out how. I'll think of something, until then, help me lay low?" Melissa gave a pleading look, scrunching her shoulder up.

"I won't tell him, thats for sure. I understand though. Claudia and I have are secrets from Genim too," John supported.

The school year started normal, at least for the boys it did. Scott was excited both for the new year and each new day was another day he could cross off the calendar until his dad came back. Genim was excited for first grade too, but he couldn't show it. He was in the hospital the day before and eavesdropped in on his father and the doctor. He overheard the doctor say that his mom was getting worse. His dad walked out telling him there was nothing to worry about, saying the doctors are doing everything they can. He didn't know Genim had overheard.

He tried to believe his dad as the weeks went by. His mom did not seem more sick to him. She always seem so bright when he would walk in. That was until he walked in one night in mid september after he was dropped off by Melissa to give his mom a goodnight kiss. When he saw his mother laying in the hospital bed, she looked awfully weak, She was barely able to to move. He ran up to hug her, she spoke quietly in his ear as he did.

"I love you so much Genim," She stated with a smile that took a lot of her strength.

"I know mom, I love you too," Genim replied, his face was beaming he did not quite understand, he thought his mom was tired. Claudia gave a light chuckle to her sons enthusiasm. She loved that he was so happy all the time, that he found everything exciting, no matter how small or common.

"Mommy, guess what we did today?" Genim explained in vivid detail a hilarious event that happened between himself, Scott, the teacher's desk, and a fake spider. He went on talking about how he got his vocab quiz back and got a 100%. The whole time still lying next to his mother in the hospital bed.

"I'm so proud of you," Claudia kissed his forehead weakly. Genim's face light up when she said it. "You are such a smart, funny and strong boy." She finished. Her voice faded a bit at the end.

"Mom, you look sleepy, Mrs. McCall is waiting, you want to sleep? Dad said we will come in the morning before school" Genim was focused on his mom's eyes, they were looking heavy.

"I love you.." Was all she said before closing her eyes. A beep played loudly in the room. Genim didn't understand what it meant. He looked around and saw a screen with a flat line moving across it, that's where the sound was coming from. "Mom what's that?" Doctors and nurses flooded into the room now, one of them quickly picking Genim up and taking him outside.

"No!" He cried as they pulled him away from his mom. "Mom!, what's happening?" Genim screamed as tears formed in his eyes. Melissa heard him and came running from the nurses station.

"Oh my god" She looked into the room and saw what was happening. She picked Genim up and took him to one of the chairs. He was crying and very confused, asking what happened. Melissa just stared at him, unsure of what to say. Her eyes started watering up.

John came running into the hospital less than 45 minutes later. Melissa was helping the doctors and Genim had his head in his arms, there were no more tears, he had cried them all out. Instead there was a soft whimpering. His dad ran over and kneeled next to him. He knew exactly what happened. He hugged his son tightly.

It had been two weeks since Scott saw Genim after Claudia died. Scott understood Genim needed time. He was prepared to give him all the time in the world if it helped. That was until his mom finally told him about his dad. Scott knew his dad was suppose to come home that month, but Ralph never did. In fact his dad didn't even call anymore and he wouldn't answer Scotts calls. Melissa explained to Scott in the best manner she could that his dad was gone, that he moved away and would not be back. Scott was crushed. The next day, after school he went straight to Genim's house crying. Scott knocked on the door until he answered, 15 minutes later. Genim's eyes were red, and he had dark rings under each eye. Scott didn't even say anything, he just hugged Genim deeply.

Before they were able to explain what was going on they had to get John to call Melissa and tell her Scott was here. I took 10 minutes to wake John up from his spot at the dining table, the house was a mess of bottles and paper. When Genim woke his dad up and explained Scott was here, he didn't say much in reply. He pulled his phone out and sent a text to Melissa, only paying enough attention to ensure he didn't need to reply to her next message. He didn't. When he finished reading Melissa's conformation he turned his attention to a bottle of whiskey on the table. John had been suspended from work after he showed up one day far too hung over to function.

Scott and Genim retreated to Genim's room when they finished with his dad.

"Genim, my dad…" Scott started but was cut off.

"Stiles" Genim corrected.

"What?" Scott asked sniffling.

"Call me stiles" Genim was staring out at nothing when he spoke. Scott didn't question Genim's correction, he didn't understand it, but he didn't question it.

They talk about everything from Stiles's mom to Scott's dad. When Scott asked how he was hanging in, Stiles told him how he had a weird feeling of happiness that he couldn't explain. Confused by what he meant, Scott asked for clarification.

"Happy? Geni...uh..Stiles... you not making sense." Scott stumbled over his correction while asking.

"I don't know. I just get sad, and then something happens and I'm happy. Like a hug." Stiles failed to clarify. In fact he just confused scott more. But Scott didn't delve further into the matter, he just accepted that something was helping Stiles. By the end of that night, they didn't know it, but they were a package deal from that point on. Brothers not by blood but by bond. Stiles went to school the next day.

It took a lot of people to get John back on his feet, and it was not easy, but he did it. Not only did he manage to bounce back, but he even managed to establish a public confidence in himself, and during the next election period, he was elected sheriff.

Stiles and Scott grew inseparable as they moved through school. They also became each others only real friend. For the most part everybody else avoided them. As they hung out over the years, they started to notice a weird trait Stiles had. What Scott referred to as his second personality. Stiles, when sad, drew on a warmth that came from what seemed like a far away person in his mind, he called it his mother's memory, he said she was watching over him in heaven. Even weirder though, Stiles would feel an intense loneliness at times. He'd feel as though he was that warmth for somebody else, and his happiness was being drawn on.

When they got into middle school, it had become a common thing for Stiles to feel these 'emotions' of another person. He swore he could almost feel another person's pain. He stopped telling Scott about it, instead he kept it to himself and started to research it on his own. Scott just assumed it had stopped, and by High School it actually had slowed down considerably.

Freshman year went by with relative ease for Scott and Stiles. They joined the lacrosse team and they got pretty good grades relative to how they did the year prior. By this point their friendship was their 'thing'. The people who payed attention to them knew them by this friendship. Their parents used Scott and Stiles friendship as the bridge to keep theirs strong. Melissa and John didn't actually talk as often as they use too, but for as long as Scott and Stiles were together, they were too, in spirit. All in all things were good and normal.

Naturally it didn't last. Sophomore year, Scott was bit by a werewolf. The thought of strength beyond measure of a man, or senses keen to even the most subtle sounds and sights were a very tempting gift. However, in reality it was no gift. For Scott, this cures lead him to a fear of hurting his friends. At first Scott had no control of his new abilities. He did hurt people. As the year progressed, he learned to control his power more.

Stiles stepped up after Scott was bit. In fact without Stiles, Scott may have never learned to control his changes, or worse yet, he may have been forced to join the likes of Derek Hale. Derek Hale, the serious, sour, and over all emotionless beta wolf. He offered some mentoring to Scott, but for the most part, Scott and him butted heads.

During Sophomore year, Scott's new powers, while secret, did push him into a more popular light. Now as an effective and skilled lacrosse player, Scott reaped the luxury of social life. He got a girlfriend, Allison, he began hanging out with Jackson and Lydia, and even managed to become co-captain of his team. But there was a price, Scott became the target of hunters, all of which were member of his Allison's family. He also became the pawn of an overly dramatic alpha wolf Peter Hale, Derek's uncle.

By the end of the semester however, he managed, with the help of Stiles, to defeat Peter and stop the hunters. He even managed to keep the girl. Of Course, things are never easy anymore. Derek had become alpha after killing Peter, his first order of business involved turning Jackson into a werewolf. Only something went terribly wrong and Jackson turned into the Kanima instead, a giant poisonous reptile. And to top off the mess, the hunters came back in vengeance and became a threat to everybody Scott had come to surround himself with.

Along with Jackson, Derek bite three other of Scotts classmates. They transformed into werewolves unlike their predecessor. This was the start of Derek's own pack.

Scott and Stiles stayed on their own side, their efforts eventually leading to the safety of their friends and family. Even Jackson was cured of his lizard curse, transforming instead into the werewolf that he was intended. Stiles, in the midst of all the danger, discovered he played a larger part in the mythical events that transpired, way more so than previously known. He was what is known as a spark. He's human of course, but his influence in the supernatural world was almost supernatural in and of itself. As for the hunters, the suffered heavy losses, eventually leading to their retirement. It helped that Scott was dating the daughter of the most influential hunter. Scott however did not get to keep the girl this time. By the end of the events, Allison had deemed them 'just friends'. Scott had many friends now, including Isaac Lahey, one of Derek's betas, who had grown a fondness of Scott, their friendship grew as result.

Stiles jealousy grew as his friendship with Scott took a back seat to Scott and Isaacs friendship at first. Stiles and Scott had their first real fight during those events. Stiles felt a loneliness when he a Scott weren't talking. For the first time, there was no warmth for Stiles to grab onto. When he looked for that feeling of security he found, there was more loneliness and it created a deeper pain.

Fortunately, their friendship prevailed. Coming into this year needed no less than Scott having his own pack. More supernatural creatures threatened the life that Scott and Stiles lived. A pack of alpha wolves and a spiteful evil druid with a distaste for werewolfs stirred Stiles and Scotts life nearly to the brink of a breakdown. It tested their truest resolve, but They made it through. Stiles' dad, Scott's mom, and Alison's dad were all saved from death because of their actions. Stiles, Scott, and the makeshift pack that formed among their friends, became a protector of Beacon Hills. A role that highlights Scotts honor, will, and determination. So much so, that he forged his way into the power of an Alpha.

Saving their parents came at a major cost. Scott learned from his boss, and supernatural expert Dr. Alan Deaton, that he, Stiles, and Allison would have to actually sacrifice their lives for their parents in a celtic ritual. He learned the result of the ritual would be a darkness that would surround his heart, and the hearts of Allison and Stiles.

They felt the darkness. Scott chose to mask it with the company of his newly formed pack, Allison distracted herself with the reformation of the family business, making the Argents hunters again, this time with a better cause, Stiles however had nothing readily available to combat the darkness. His family was beaten and battered, and needed recovery, his friends were there but Stiles really only could trust Scott with the way he was feeling. His friendship with Scott helped, but Scott had always been the protective friend, the one that would keep physical harm away at any cost. Stiles needed to protect himself on the inside. At first he shielded himself with his mysterious internal protector, but he would need to find something else, he didn't want to risk losing that.

During the events of the last two years Stiles saw many of the unreal, he accepted the fact that unexplainable things may actually have a real supernatural cause. It helped with all the research and investigation he had been doing for Scott, and now he thinks it will help him explain what's going on with himself. After exhausting the internet, the bestiary, and even the library, Stiles decided it was time to talk to an expert.

"Stiles, What brings you in on a Saturday? Scott isn't working today," Deaton greeted as Stiles walked into the Veterinarian's office.

"I'm actually here to see you." Stiles' tone was uncharacteristically serious.

"Oh, well then come on back and we'll have a talk about it." Deaton invited Stiles through the mountain ash gate. "What did you need?" Deaton asked as they made their way to the back.

"I was wondering if you knew of anything, mythical, about a human being subtly connected to another's emotions?" Stiles asked point blank.

"I could tell you a few non mythical things, but that would probably be a conversation better suited for Murrel, maybe something regular with her. Why do you ask?" Deaton's expression was the same as it always is, calm and nonchalant to anybody else, but Stiles knew better, he knows Deaton is a trove of secrets and mystery.

"Very funny, I'm serious here, I've been feel..." Stiles stopped himself "I mean, I stumbled across hints of humans being connected to one another, but its very vague." Stiles finished.

"Well, you are right about that, its vague, in fact it is downright rare. there are certain myths that are never written, they usually die with time. I don't know any specifics myself. I do know that humans have been know to have strong psychological ties with close family. Brothers and sisters that could almost feel each others pain and happiness. Why were you researching this?" Deaton explained to Stiles, he already knew Stiles was talking about something personal he was experiencing.

"I'm an only child so it can't be that.." Stiles let out spastically, catching himself too late. "...uh… I mean, If there an only child...uh what does it mean?" Stiles corrected pathetically. He wondered if it was obvious.

"Stiles, have you been feeling these emotions?" Deaton asked.

"No!" Stiles replied to quickly. Deaton just stared for a few quiet moments. "Ok, fine, yes." Stiles relented to the stare.

"Stiles, this could be a manifestation of the darkness." Deaton warned.

"No, its been like this for my whole life, it became very apparent around the time my mom died." Stiles admitted as he leaned on to the metal table in front of him with one hand and scratched his head with the other.

"In fact I've been using it to combat the 'darkness'" Stiles explained, putting a slight sarcastic emphasis on darkness. Deaton's eyes widened slightly.

"Stiles, like I said before, I don't know of anything definitive, but if you are connected to another person, and you've been using that to shield yourself from the darkness in your heart, then you may be consequently feeding that other person to the darkness. The reason you don't feel it as much is because, its not after you right now." Deaton was serious, he warned with some resolution.

"You mean I could be hurting someone right now?" Stiles voice grew a bit louder and more worried.

"Stiles, I don't know anything for sure, but until you know, you might want to consider another shield." Deaton offered. Stiles mind immediately jumped to the worst case scenario, imagining an innocent person falling into a deep depression all because of him.

"I have to go" Stiles made his way for the door, looking slightly sick.

"Stiles...Stiles…" Deaton called, but Stiles keep walking out. Alan sighed audibly, looking at a golden retriever that had been sitting in cage, ears perked watching the whole thing. "What about you, think you could use advice from an old wise man?" Deaton asked the dog. The golden retriever tilted his head and raised a paw in a waving manner, his tail starting to wag. "Ok, lets check you out," Deaton spoke walking to the cage.

Stiles drove home quickly, making several calls to Scott on his way, they all went to voicemail. Finally he relented and texted Scott asking him to head over. He got a reply almost instantly, Scott explained how he couldn't answer because he was at a movie with Allison and Isaac. Stiles replied, telling Scott he needed to talk, it was about the darkness. Scott left the theater almost immediately, giving Allison and Isaac only a half-hearted explanation. Getting on his motorcycle, he headed straight to Stiles' house. Stiles got home and immediately headed for his room. His dad was at work.

He didn't know for sure if he was hurting somebody right now, but he wasn't about to risk it. He needed help, something to keep him safe and to guard him until he figured out what was going on. In that moment he felt the darkness again. He could sense the warmth still, but he didn't draw on it. Instead he bared the brunt of sadness and hurt. His head flooded with memories of his mom, of how he felt when Jennifer took his dad, the pain of watching Scott nearly kill himself. Then it all went away when he heard Scott running up the stairs.

"Stiles, are you ok?" Scott didn't knock, he just ran in and went for Stiles' room. "Stiles?" He asked when he saw Stiles pacing across the room. Stiles went and hugged Scott without speaking. They had not hugged in a long time. Scott hugged back, protecting Stiles. Stiles' breathing calmed.

After the hug, Stiles started to explain to Scott that he never actually stopped feeling the other emotions. He told Scott that he had been hiding it while he tried to figure out what it was.

"So did you figure it out?" Scott asked. Stiles was calmer now.

"No!, Well maybe, Kinda, I'm not too sure," Stiles was being Stiles. Scott almost wanted to roll his eyes, but the situation was too serious.

"What do you mean?" He asked instead.

"I talked to Deaton, and he said that If I'm actually connected to another person somehow, then by using it to protect me from feeling that darkness, I could be hurting that other person." Stiles explained.

"How would you be connected? And you didn't tell me you were having trouble coping with the darkness, Stiles that's what I'm here for, that's what we are all here for. You are part of a pack. We are family." Scotts voice was emotional and securing. He felt very heavily on the matter of his friends and it could be heard in moments like these.

"I don't Know," Stiles replied. The answer was weak and general. He just sat at the edge of his bed.

"Stiles," Scott pleaded slightly, sitting next to Stiles "talk to me."

Stiles looked at his friend for a quiet moment. Right now, at this moment, he didn't feel any darkness or sadness. He felt protected. He didn't know why he avoided using Scott, he assumed he didn't want to risk just 'using' his friends.

"I don't want to be the one everybody has to help" Stiles started "I can bring a lot to this pack and I don't want to be the anchor that everybody has to keep raising."

"Stiles, you bring so much to us as a pack. You keeps together and on our feet. You always say you don't want to be robin. Well I don't think your robin, if anything, you are watchtower," Scott was serious, but his DC reference made him and Stiles chuckle.

"Scott, watchtower is an object in the comics." Stiles lightly laughed out a correction.

"But its a person in the show." Scott gave a signature goofy smile.

"I guess you're right there," Stiles agreed.

Scott spent the night, they played video games and watched movies, just like when they were younger. No creäture of the night, nothing trying to kill them, and no bad guys. Stiles almost forgot what that was like. Stiles spent that night thinking on Scotts words, he was in a pack now, he wasn't the weight keeping them down, he was the 'watchtower' that looked over them and keep them on the right path. The darkness subsided and Stiles sleep soundly, Scott was passed out at the end of the bed, Stiles had already prepared several dog jokes for the next morning.


	3. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Don't own teen wolf.

Beta'd chapter two, tell me what you think.

Chapter Two

"Bradley, could you come down here for a minute" Richard yelled from the kitchen downstairs.

"Yeah dad, be there in a sec" Bradley yelled back from his room.

Bradley came running down the stairs a few minutes later. The 16-year-old boy rounded the railing after the last step and proceeded down the hallway towards the kitchen.

"What's up?" Bradley asked. Richard watched through the archway as Bradley walked towards the kitchen. He turned to look towards a section of the kitchen that was blind to Brad until he walked through the archway. Brad walked into the kitchen turning to look at what had his dads attention.

"Mom?" Bradley asked, seeing his mom standing in the connecting dining room. Bradley's parents had separated just the year before, Bradley took it considerably hard. Brad's mom had moved to California, he stayed with his dad in Connecticut for the time being

"What are you..." Bradley started but was cut off when his dad interjected.

"Son we have to talk, take a seat"

Richard, his ex-wife Haley, and Brad sat at the dining table, for his new perspective, Brad could see a uniformed officer standing in the foyer adjacent to the stairs and dining room.

"Bradley." Richard started. "Your mother won the custody case, she's demanding you move out today, and…" Richard was cut off by Haley

"Don't make me look like the bad guy, I'm not demanding anything, the judge agreed that sooner is better given the long move." Haley defended herself. Richard and her went back and forth in banter for the next few moments, the uniformed officer had moved into the dining room now.

"Stop it, just stop it!" Bradley yelled at his parents. "This past year has been the worst thing to ever happen to me and you two still don't give a crap. I don't even know why you fight for me, if I had a choice I wouldn't choose either of you." Brad continued his assault. Brad didn't give either of them a chance to reply, he got up from his spot and ran to his room.

"Look what you did now." Haley blamed Richard.

Scotts eared perked as the window to Stiles' room opened, it did not initially wake him from his sleep. Stiles remained passed out. The room began to light up with sunlight as the curtains over the window where moved out-of-the-way.

"Wake up!" a yell came from outside the window sill. Scott and Stiles both woke in a panic, consequently rolling out of bed.

"What's wrong with you Isaac?" Scott yelled back immediately recognizing the voice of his favorite beta, however after this, the position was up for grabs after that little incident.

"Isaac?" Stiles asked as he stumbled to his feet, rubbing the morning blur out of his eyes.

"I couldn't help it." Isaac admitted shrugging his shoulders as he step through the window.

"What?" Stiles asked, he was still half asleep and not fully understanding what was going on. "Wait, why are you here, what's going on?" Stiles mind woke up a bit more and he started asking Isaac questions.

"Don't worry. Nothing bad is happening, Scott didn't come home last night so I figured it was worth checking in on." Isaac answered Stiles.

"Dude, you scared the hell out of us." Scott informed.

"Oh, I know, it was worth it. Oh and I got the cutest pic of you two just before that." Isaac replied with a slight chuckle, turning his phone to reveal a picture of Scott and Stiles cuddling. Stiles jumped for the phone but Isaac had faster reflexes and had the phone back in his pocket before Stiles could even clear the gap between them.

Stiles stood up from the floor, he made a move for Isaac. Isaac raised his finger and pointed to Stiles with a 'Stay' look. Stiles stepped back, looking at Scott. Scotts face had transitioned from alert, to entertained. A goofy lopsided smile formed on his face as he looked back and forth between Stiles and Isaac.

"Awe Isaac, thanks for looking out for me" Scott started, " and send me that pic, my mom has a collection of ones just like it, she wants to make an album, sorta like a timeline of them." He finished.

"Wha, what?" Stiles looked from Isaac to Scott. Scott had a big smile on his face. "Okay, I kinda want to see it now," Stiles admitted, his face lighting to match the entertained mood of Isaac and Scott.

Brad heard a knock at his door. "Go away!" his scream was muffled because his head was in his arms.

"Hey, kiddo?" Richard whispered as he opened the door to Brads room.

"I said, go away," Brad looked up from his arms. Richard took a mental note of the quit tone, he knew Brad was very unhappy. Richard sat at the end of Brads bed looking over at his son at the desk.

"Brad, I know this is tough." Richard started but was immediately cut off. "Oh my god dad, I don't want to talk about this." Brad spoke in what seemed to be his normal tone.

"Alright, then I'll just sit here" Richard crossed his arms and straightened his back. Brad stood up and went to his closet. He began grabbing his clothes from the hangar and setting him on his desk.

"Brad?" His dads tone was hurt. "Brad, I don't want you or your mother to go." His father admitted.

Stiles sat at the counter in his kitchen. Scott and Isaac were attempting to make breakfast. The increasing amount of smoke suggested they we not doing a very good job. Isaac had already opened all the windows and door trying to air out the kitchen, but the smoke alarm still went off.

John woke with a fright when the alarm went off. He immediately went for his gun. As the haze in his eyes cleared, and the haze in his room increased, he realized there was smoke everywhere. quickly he jumped up and ran for his room door.

When he got into the hall he saw Scott waving a towel at the smoke detector. John's face dropped at the sight. "Stiles! What did I say about letting Scott cook?" John yelled down the hall. Stiles didn't reply. Scott just gave one of his signature puppy dog smiles.

The sheriff made his way into the kitchen after disconnection the smoke alarm. Isaac had the oven off by now. "Stiles, you know not t…" John started but stopped when he saw his son staring out at nothing. "Stiles are you okay?" John asked walking up to him a placing a hand on his shoulder. When his father's hand touched him, Stiles jolted out of his trance.

"Yeah, um, yeah, I'm fine…" Stiles looked to his dad. "Um hey dad, you know I love you right?" Stiles asked unsure.

"Yeah, of course I do. Stiles are you sure you're okay?" John replied.

"Yeah, I'm fine, I just felt like I needed to tell you." Stiles mumbled out.

"Stiles, you don't need to tell me, I always know," John reassured. Stiles smiled before getting up to help clear out the smoke.

Brad smiled into his closet, he put the clothes in his hand back in the closet and turned to his dad. "Then why do we have too?" Brad asked him "Why do we have to split up?"

"Brad, it's complicated." His dad answered.

"Start from the beginning." Brad retorted.

"You don't want to hear this." Richard warned.

"I do," Brad replied.

Richard hesitated before starting "You know why. What you don't know, is your mom wanted to leave me 16 years ago. She was pregnant with you and she wanted to leave with you and never even mention me. When you were born however, there was complications, your lungs failed, and...you died." Richards was being very careful. Brad felt a pit forming in his stomach. "The doctors resuscitated you and your mom shredded the divorce papers. nothing changed though. My job still had us moving around, last year, she decided that it was time." Richard finished off.

"You guys stayed together for me?" Brad asked.

"Brad, I never had a real family, I ran off at 15. I made everything I had on my own, and until you were born I didn't pay enough attention to my family. By then it was too late." Richard confessed.

After getting the house cleared of smoke, Scott and Isaac retreated to Stiles' room. Stiles was a few steps behind them, but stopped. He turned and went to his dads study. His dad was sitting at the desk.

"Dad, can I ask you something?" Stiles said, standing in the frame of the door. In that moment he felt like he did all those years ago, standing just outside watching his dad fall apart.

"Yeah, go ahead." John set his glasses on the desk looking up from some paperwork.

"Did you and mom fight?" Stiles asked nervously. The question brought a weird taste to his mouth. Stiles and his father never talked about his mom, it was too hard and too awkward.

John let out a sigh before answering. "I won't lie, we did have fights." John dropped his head at the thought of ever being mad at his wife. "They were for stupid reason, and I could have stopped them from happening if I just…" The sheriff stopped for a moment. "Stiles, are you sure you're okay?" John turned the conversation to Stiles. Stiles stepped into the room at took a seat in front of his dad.

"I am, I am, I've just been feeling...I don't know, like it just feels like I'm losing somebody I guess." Stiles confessed.

"Stiles, we haven't really talked about the past few weeks, and it's not been easy. I'm sorry about that. Stiles I'm here, you can talk to me anytime, even if we don't normally do it." John comforted, getting up to hug his son. Stiles smiled as his dad hugged him. Stiles felt the feeling of loss ease, he felt it being calmed.

Brad felt warm. In his head he knew things would be hard, that his parents were split for good, and that he may not see his dad very much, but something deep in his mind made him feel warm. He drew on that and hugged his dad.

"Dad, I didn't mean it when I said I wouldn't pick either of you. I was mad, I..." Brad was cut off when his dad hugged him.

"I know you didn't, this is hard, I haven't been around much, and this won't make that easier, but I love you and your mother more than anything, that will always be true." Richard told his son.

Bradley inevitably moved with his mom. He still didn't like the thought of the separation, but he still felt that warm feeling in the back of his mind. It comforted him, it almost always has.

On the flight to California, Brad thought on the feeling. It wasn't new to him, he'd always felt something, usually the feeling of warmth and comfort. There was a time when he was younger that he felt an intense loss, and recently that feeling had returned, but for the most part, he had felt a close friendship more than anything. Brad wasn't particularly popular in school, feeling like he had somebody to watch his back helped him with the loneliness.

For some reason, the feeling became stronger during the flight. Every mile the plane crossed closer to california, the closer Brad felt to home. He knew he was born in California, but he had never lived there, his family moved so often he didn't think he had a home.

Brad looked out the window as the pilot spoke over the intercom.

"Hello folks, this is the captain speaking, we are entering Alameda county and will be landing at Oakland International Airport shortly, its 10:30 pm local time and a warm 83 degrees out tonight." The captain was welcoming. "Also, tonight is a clear night, if you look at your windows, you should be able to see the city skyline as we approach over the Beacon Hills reserve." The pilot noted.

Brad looked intently at the dark spot below his plane. In the distance Oakland, Berkeley, and Beacon hills lined a different section of the large reserve. Bradley could not tell which was which, but he looked out to one of them more so than the others. That one in particular gave him a sense of security for some reason.

The plane landed a few short moments later, and before he knew it, Bradley was through the terminal and grabbing his luggage. His mom had his room packed up and shipped over so Brad only had two bags. His mother, whom he had flown with, had only a carry on.

"Mom, why did you move to Berkeley?" Brad asked as his mom finished giving the address to the cab driver.

"Brad we discussed this, your dad and I jus..." Haley was cut off.

"No, that's not what I mean. I mean of all places to move, why Berkeley." Brad clarified.

"Oh, um...well I actually meant to move to Beacon hills. I just got a job in Berkeley and decided it was close enough for now." Haley answered.

Brad thought of asking why Beacon hills, then remembered what his father told him. To his mom, he thought, she must have seen Beacon Hills, not as a turnover between moving, but as the place where her son was born, and survived. He loaded up the cab quietly and took his seat. He and his mom continued to make small talk along the drive.

Stiles thought back to the conversation he had with his dad that morning. The Stilinski men were not known for talking to each other about painful things, but Stiles was glad it happened. He liked it because it had help him, and he thinks it may have helped somebody else. Still unsure of exactly what it is, Stiles has accepted that he was feeling another person and that other person could feel him. He didn't know how to explain what was happening, all he knew was, things have started feeling better.

The afternoon dragged on lazily. The california sun fell slowly on the horizon. Scott, Isaac, and Stiles had decided to play baseball and their game was in full swing. The crack of an aluminum bat hitting a baseball defined the ears of the observers at the park. Stiles, after realizing he hit the ball, took off for first base. He was in a dead sprint and blazed through 1st base, safe, he thought noticing Isaac scramble for the ball.

Stiles started to run for second when he noticed Isaac over power his throw to Scott. Halfway to second base, Stiles stopped when he felt a slightly claustrophobic rush of security. Scott watched him stop and slightly cocked his head in confusion. "What's up man?" He asked.

"I'm not exactly sure," Stiles replied with a large smile. Several seconds later he broke into a mad dash, rounding second and reaching third as Scott and Isaac attempted to react. Scott looked at Stiles with more confusion, but was distracted when a piercing whistle caught his attention.

"Hey, he's safe, now throw the ball already," Allison yelled from home base after whistling. She had a wooden bat in her hand.

"You can whistle really loud," Scott yelled back as he made his way to the pitching mound. Stiles chuckled slightly remembering that early that day, Scott and Isaac were watching Star Trek in his room.

Stiles thought process was interrupted again by something in the back of his mind. What ever he was feeling was noticeably stronger. As a kid, he noticed the strength of those emotions very, but this felt much more personal. Stiles felt like somebody was coming back into his life. He was snapped out of his trance when he heard the bat connect with the ball. He took off running for home. 3-2, he thought as he ran through the base. Allison was safe on first. By the end of the game, the score was 7-3, Scott and Isaac cheated as far as Stiles was concerned, but he laughed the thought away, next time he'd beat them whether they werewolfed it up or not.

Scott approached stiles after the game, they stayed a few paces behind the rest of the group that had showed up to play. "Hey stiles, slow down a bit." Scott quietly spoke while putting a hand on Stiles' shoulder.

"What's up man," Stiles replied normally.

"Are you all good?" Scott asked referring to Stiles' earlier spaced out moments. Stiles thought for a moment confused before figuring out what Scott was asking about. The sun had set now and Stiles noticed the feelings he was having were no longer in the back of his mind.

"Actually..." Stiles started, "something weird is happening," he continued to explain to Scott how he was feeling.

Brad finished bringing the suitcases into the house. He stared at the clean and modern house, looking around he saw the similarity in his parents tastes, he added that to his mental list of reasons they were good for each other. The thought of the separation was creeping its way back into his mind, it felt distant though. Even though he knew he was sad, he still felt like it's ok.

Brad took note of how the feelings of separation were there in the back of his mind. normally when he felt down, something in the back of his mind would make him feel good, it was weird to brad how now that strength was stronger and the sadness was in the back. He never had this feeling come on so strong. He accepted it, to him he was just strong-willed. He knew it wasn't really him, or at least it never felt like it was him, but he didn't know how to explain it, so he went with all he had.

"Let me show you to your new room," Haley said with a big smile on her face. "I'm so glad you're here," She finished with a kiss to Brads cheek. Brad took his bags up stairs following behind his mom.

Brad looked around his new room. Aside from pictures of his childhood, his mom had left its design up to him. Picking up a picture of him in his moms hand as a baby, he thought back to what his dad had told him. He shuddered at the thought of being dead.

"Mom, what happened when I was born?" Brad asked without thinking. He immediately regretted it when his mom looked to the floor. "I'm sorry, you don't have to talk about it," He added quickly.

"No, no, I knew I would have to talk about it. I just pictured it a little different." Haley started. "You were born early. From the moment of birth you were under intense care because your lungs were not developed." Haley took a deep breath "The doctors prognosis was very grim, and they had very little hope." She let out the rest of the breath, calming her breathing "When you fell into cardiac arrest, the doctors didn't expect you to survive, but you did, and almost if my miracle, your lungs were better, and the doctors knew you'd be okay." Haley finished, her face was strong as the memory of hearing the news flowed through her head.

"How did that happen?" Brad asked confused.

"The doctors don't really know. All they knew was the tests were conclusive." Haley answered.

"Does that ever happen?" Brad asked another question still confused.

"No, infact the doctor said, you survived the leading cause of prenatal death. In fact another child had died of the same problem that night, you two were both in the same ward, he was just a little older than you by a few days I think." Haley answered, she remembered a lot from that night, but not everything. Brad didn't have any more questions, he pondered the answers and thought on it as he made his bed.

Stiles woke up the next morning feeling the best he had in days. He was up dressed and ready for the day much earlier than normal. Walking into his room, John was shocked to see that, not only was his son ready, but in fact, Stiles was already heading out. No bribes, blackmail, force, nothing needed.

"You seem awfully good this morning. What's going on?" John asked as he watched his son walk to the door.

"Don't really know, but hey if it's bad, I can go back to avoiding school tomorrow." Stiles offered with a cheap smile.

"Go, now, do good. I'm holding you to this new standard. You raised the bar, better keep it up." John replied, countering his sons normal banter. Stiles smiled as he bite into a piece of toast, before spinning in a 360 motion and making for the door.

He pulled his jeep up to the high school in time to see Scott and Isaac stepping off Scott's bike, that was a first, he never saw Isaac getting a ride on Scott's bike, he hadn't even been on Scott's bike yet. His attention was shifted suddenly when Ethan and Aiden came rushing by on their bikes. When he turned his attention back to Scott and Isaac, he had already been noticed and they were making their way to him. Stiles thought to himself how this day seemed really good for a change.

The sheriff made his way into his office drinking coffee. The day had been relatively quiet for once, which meant, it was a paperwork day. He took note of the inordinately large pile of folders at his desk. Taking a seat, he opened the first one. To his surprise inside the folder was a card, he opened a read it. The card had been from the members of his department, they were glad for his safe return and wanted to make his first day back easy, as such, he noticed the folders on his desk numbered more in the 'finished' stack than in the 'unfinished' stack. Between the card and the completed work, he smiled.

"Thank you very much, but I'm still at the top of my A game, nobody can stop that," he chuckled as he yelled through from his seat.

"Oh don't thank us yet, we knew you would say something like that so we left the hardest part to you," He heard a chuckled reply come from the front desk.

With that reply, John noticed what she meant. Looking up he saw his least favorite FBI agent standing at the door to his office.

"The hard part?" The sheriff asked looking up to Ralph.

"We can get through this quickly and easily if you can go through this my way," Ralph replied.

"That depends on if your way doesn't annoy me." John countered nonchalantly. Agent McCall thought back for a moment to Stiles before moving on.

"Look we don't have time for this, alright? There are several serious things we have to discuss." Ralph started.

"Paperwork is done, what's left?" John spoke, pointing out the completed paper work on his desk.

"What's left? Your son withheld information from a federal investigation, his friends attacked a federal officer and two deputy's…" Ralph's tirade was cut off.

"Whoa, hold up there, this paperwork says those deputy's are fine, and no action was taken against them physically, they aren't pressing charges. And when you say, my sons friends, you mean your son, I thought, you were trying to fix a burnt bridge there. How will that go in court? And for Stiles, he didn't withhold anything, you just asked stupid questions." John shut Ralph up. It was quiet in the room for a few moments, Ralph thought back to Stiles and his smart ass remarks in the hospital.

"I tell you what, your son has definitely picked up a few undesirable traits. He doesn't get those from Claudia. And I'm pretty sure you were not always like this. Tell me sheriff, how has your drinking problem been lately?" Ralph shot back at John with a smug tone.

"Out, now, If you want to press any charges, we'll fight that one out in the courts, and by the way, the warrant you had for Allison's house was only valid if it was presented to her first, so if you want a day in court, I'll be glad to make that call." John's threat was serious. He and Ralph stared each other down for a few more moments, Ralph submitted, standing up and heading for the door. "The paper work isn't done, finish the folder I left at the desk and this will be over." Ralph said walking out.

The sheriff sat back in his chair as the deputy at the desk knocked on his door with a folder in hand. She handed it to him. "Oh, and there is a call from the deputies office in Berkeley, its on line one." She said as she walked out the office.

"This is Sheriff Stilinski" John answered the phone thankfully waving off the deputy.

"Hello sheriff, this is deputy Rada." The man on the phone replied.

"Hello Deputy, what's going on?" John asked as he positioned the folder from Ralph on his desk and opened it.

"Well, sir, there's not really any other way to say it than, your son is in Berkeley and he has assault charges being placed on him." Rada informed John.

"What. He can't be, I saw him go off to school this morning, in Beacon Hills. Why is there assault charges?" John replied with shock.

"Sorry sir, I just arrived on scene. Another officer is talking with your son, I saw him being escorted and recognized him, I figured you would want to be informed." Rada continued.

"You just arrived, are you sure it's him?" John asked worried.

"Oh yes sir, I'm sure, his face was all over the news when the story broke about your disappearance, it's him alright." Rada confirmed.

"Get more details, I'll be over soon. Don't let any officers question my son any further until I get there," John ordered as he grabbed his gear and headed for a squad car.

Brad woke up early that first morning. He was feeling surprisingly well given the circumstance. He slowly got ready for the day as he thought more on a dream he was having the night before. He dreamed about himself and his parents at an amusement park. He didn't know if it was real but if felt more like a memory than anything.

""Brad are you up?" He heard his mom knocking at his door.

"Yeah, come in," He replied.

"Morning, how are you feeling today?" Haley asked.

"I'm good," He replied putting on a shirt.

"Good enough to want to start school?" Haley suggestively asked with a smile. Brad thought for a moment. He almost never wanted to go to school. He was always a new kid, and it sucked. As a kid, he was always considered a freak because he had to go to the nurse to take Ritalin every few hours. In middle school, he never spent more than a few weeks at a school so friends were not even a consideration. And for his first two years of high school he was an awkward freshman and a troubled sophomore that needed psychiatric help because he constantly would have panic attacks. As for the start of his junior year, he was again in a new school, he was still on meds, and now he didn't even have his mom. He manage to start the year off somewhat normal. He thought he'd finally get the friends he needed and be able to handle any stress. That turned upside down quickly though when out of nowhere he was swept with a massive depression that had him feeling unable to do anything. He still doesn't know what caused it, where it went, or if its gone for good. His short moment of thought turned into several minutes of silence.

"Brad?" His mom asked breaking the silence.

"Huh...oh, yeah ok," Brad replied breaking from his trance. After that whole thought process did he really just say 'yeah', he began thinking on it again, but as he thought of everything negative, he still felt safe, like here, nothing like that could ever happen.

"Awesome, you'll love the school I enrolled you in. It's a private school. Maybeck High. It's small and very academic. I know you have always been good at school so I figured it would be perfect." Haley was excited.

Brad and his mom made their way to the school. The arrived 20 minutes into the school day and Brad received his schedule and got a tour of the campus. He had rushed his mom away immediately after she signed all the paperwork and was on the tour alone with the principle.

"Bradley, we think Maybeck will be just the challenge you enjoy, You have an outstanding academic performance, and you'll find our curriculum to be just the thing for your skill." The man escorting him spoke as the tour ended. Brad looked around more nodding in agreeance.

"Well, that's the tour, here's your second period class, it just started so lets get you in there, introduced and onto learning." The principal said enthusiastically.

Class was easy, and better than that, Brad managed to meet a few people and introduce himself. They were friendly. However, there was one hiccup, a larger fellow had taken a slight disliking to him almost immediately. He had expected this to happen and tried to pay no credence to it, but he knew it wasn't that easy.

Sure enough, around lunch time, the larger boy, who Brad learned was named Trevor, found his way to Brad.

"You know, I don't like you. I've seen your kind before. Smart kid moves in and starts making us all look bad. You better watch it." Trevor warned Brad.

"You know I've seen this before, big kid, no social skills, kind of dumb, moves in on the new kid because he's jealous that he looks worse." Brad replied standing straight up to challenge Trevor, he learned quickly that was the wrong move and next thing he knew he was in the principal's office. He had somewhat won the fight, it was a matter of perspective really. Granted, that part didn't matter, what mattered was the deputy in the office. His mom was yelling at the principal in his defense. Brad was more focused on the ice pack on his head though.

After about thirty minutes of his moms consistent argument, the principal finally got the chance to speak. The rebuttal as short-lived as Haley immediately went on the defensive. At this point the deputy had stepped out, Brad could understand why, the Ice pack wasn't curing anything the fight caused but after thirty minutes of the back and forth, he was ready to just accept the suspension. He didn't get that option though, instead everybody's attention was drawn to the sheriff opening the door.

"Stiles, you want to tell me why you're at a High school in Berkeley, with assault charges being pressed?" The sheriff asked, his voice raise slightly towards the end.

"Sheriff, I didn't know you were in town?" The principal asked confused.

"What do you mean assault charges?" Haley asked angrily, all attention was on her now. a moment passed as a confused face fell on everybody's face.

"What the hell is a Stiles?" Brad asked finally breaking the awkward confused silence.


	4. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: The whole 'me not owning teen wolf' thing is still a thing. _dang_

Beta'd by my awesome cousin.

Chapter Three

"Dude, I have like 6 missed calls from your dad, what's going on?" Scott asked walking up to Stiles just before 5th period.

"I'm not really sure actually, I got a bunch of texts saying 'why the hell are you in Berkeley?' and 'don't answer any questions', it's weird, I just replied asking what's going on but he's not replying," Stiles responded to Scott while scrolling through his phone to show Scott the messages.

"I've got a voice mail," Scott pointed out, showing stiles the notification.

"Play it."

They listened to the message, "Scott, are you with Stiles? Do you know why he went to Berkeley? Call me back." Stiles face twisted in confusion as he listened to his dads voice, He sounded both very worried and very angry. They looked at each other quizzically as they attempted to figure out what Stiles' dad was talking about.

"I'm just as confused as you. Should I try calling him?" Scott suggested, he saw Stiles' confused face shift to a contemplating one.

The bell rang signaling class was about to start. Stiles looked up at Scott as the bell rang. Scott knew that face very well; Stiles was scheming. Scott knew it meant he would be involved in a little mischief.

"I got a better idea. Do you think we could convince coach to let us skip today's class?" Stiles asked. Scott rolled his eyes slightly, his prediction had been spot on.

"Not if you say it like that, but..." Scott started. Scott thought about his recent school life. He hadn't been missing school and his grades were good, however, it has been awhile since Scott and Stiles ditched for non-supernatural or crazy reasons. Scott smiled slyly as he figured out what to say next "...but today is the last day to turn in our physical paperwork to be on the lacrosse team." the subtle suggestion flew over Stiles' head, the look of confusion retook his face.

"What does that have to do with anything, we turned that paperwork into the office already." Stiles shot back, he threw both his hands in front of him and waved them to add emphasis, the whole time looking at Scott in a 'you're not helping' manner.

"Coach doesn't know that." Scott smile grew.

"We're off topic, Scott we need to find a way out of class." Stiles replied still confused, he put one hand on his hip and pointed the other hand at Scott when he said his name.

"Geez, just follow me" Scott grabbed Stiles and pulled towards the teacher's desk in class.

"Coach..." Scott started, he pretended to sound urgent.

"What McCall." Coach spat back loudly.

"I haven't had my physical yet, I'm sorry. Can Stiles take me right now to go get it? I'll have it turned in today."

"Ga...Da..." Coach bit his tongue remembering he was in class. "McCall, you have to get on top of things, go, and you better not let things like this happen again." The coach let out in his normal demeanor. Scott smiled, pulling Stiles towards the door. Stiles' face was in awe, his lips moved to mouth the words 'how the', Scott just replied with a smile.

"So we are going where now?" Scott asked closing the jeep door. "You never finished telling me your plan?" He added.

"Oh, right. We're going to Berkeley." Stiles answered

"Why? We could call him." Scott suggested.

"Multiple reasons... mainly it's because..." Stiles began speaking while turning on the Jeep. Before Stiles could finish explaining, Isaac knocked on the passenger door.

"Scott, I thought you were going to be a good student this year?" Isaac asked leaning into the open window.

"Hey, I am good, I have A's in all my classes. Stiles needed help." Scott explained

"Can I come?" Isaac asked plainly.

"N..." Stiles started

"Yeah!" Scott answered enthusiastically. He opened the door and got out to let Isaac in. Stiles just looked forward.

"Hurry up! Let's go." Stiles rushed. Scott looked at Stiles letting his smile dropped a little. Stiles noticed and returned an apologetic look as Scott closed the door.

"Where we going?" Isaac asked.

"Berkeley." Scott answered

"Sorry, should have mentioned I overheard a bit, I meant where in Berkeley?" Isaac clarified. Scott looked to Stiles, neither of them knew the answer.

Stiles started driving towards Berkeley. He pulled out his phone, calling the Sheriff's office to find out where his dad was. He also asked the deputy if she knew what was going on, she said she didn't and that the Sheriff left pretty fast.

"Maybeck High." Stiles told Isaac and Scott after hanging up. All three where confused as to why the Sheriff would be there. While turning onto the highway, Stiles noticed he was being a little heavier on the accelerator. He was a little concerned.

The sheriff stood in the threshold of the door to the principal's office. The three standing in there were staring at him waiting for an answer. John stared at the boy in the boy in the seat looked exactly like Stiles, his hair may have been shorter with his bangs down and brushed to the left, and he was wearing a simple plain white T-shirt with blue jeans and converse but it wasn't Stiles. Johns phone began ringing. He looked at the caller ID and saw it was from Stiles. He dropped his phone, as it hit the ground the call connected.

"Dad?...Dad? Are you there? Dad?" Stiles voice could be heard faintly from the phone on the floor.

"Sheriff, are you ok? You don't look so well." The principal asked. John was standing frozen looking at the boy in the chair.

John retrieved his phone from the floor of the principal's office. He disconnected the call without talking and left the office. He stepped out of the principal's office, he stepped into the front office for the school. There was a desk that separated a student waiting area and the faculty offices. John stepped into the waiting area where deputy Rada was questioning students.

"Da...Dad!" Stiles yelled into the phone before disconnecting angrily.

Scott and Isaac stared intently waiting for an update. "He answered but didn't say anything" Stiles spoke, turning to them with an exaggerated scowl. Scott could tell Stiles was slightly annoyed, but the obvious aside, Scott could tell Stiles was concerned.

"Stiles, he's ok, we know that. Maybe whatever he's doing is taking all his attention and he just pocket answered?" Scott offered to calm Stiles.

"I heard somebody ask if he was okay, they said he looked sick." Stiles told Scott.

"Look we are five minutes out, we'll see him and figure out what's going on," Isaac comforted, he placed a hand on each of their shoulders.

"Yeah," Stiles whispered in agreeance, his foot added slightly more pressure to the accelerator.

"Rada, who is that in there?" John asked loudly. Rada's face grew confused.

"Sir?" Rada replied.

"Do you have his file?" The sheriff asked.

Rada handed a folder tucked in his arms to the Sheriff. After receiving it, he immediately opened the file and began reading. John sifted through the folder the school had provided Rada. He was reading the copy of the birth certificate the school had on file. He knew the Beacon Hills Memorial certificate anywhere. Rada read the certificate over John's shoulder. He realized what had happened.

"John, I'm sorry. I thought he was your son." Rada spoke quietly so only John would hear.

"No. I think he is." John spoke very quietly, there was no need for the apology. John's tone was surprised, shocked, and awed, it weighed so heavy he could barely speak. Rada looked over his shoulder to read the certificate.

"Sir, that doesn't make sense. The certificate says..." Rada started.

"I know what it says, I can't explain it." John cut off the deputy.

"Dad!" Stiles yelled from the parking lot, seeing his dad trough a little window on the door to the office. From the other side of the door John heard the muffled call. Looking through the window a few feet from him, he could see Stiles, Scott, and Isaac heading for the door.

"Stiles what are..." John started as he opened the door. He was cut off when Stiles worried voice caught him by surprise.

"What is going on, dad are you okay?" Stiles asked, his voice had a subtle pang of concern that John had heard a lot of in the past two years.

"What are you doing here?" John asked, he ignored Stiles' question letting a more prominent concerned voice trump Stiles.

Stiles didn't answer the question. His attention became focused on the strong feeling of fear that was encompassing his mind. The fear wasn't Stiles' emotion. Even now when it was so strong it was physically hurting him, Stiles could differentiate between his feelings and those of another persons. Looking around, Stiles attempted to find the source of this pain and comfort it. He had never felt this so strong, there had to be a reason for it. Stiles figured that the intensity of these feelings must have something to do with proximity, he just knew the source was close. So close that he thought he could find it.

From the door of the principal's office, Brad was being escorted by a deputy. Stiles watched as a group of people made their way out of the office. He looked past his dad at the uniformed officer attempting to get information on why his dad was here. When the deputy stepped to the side Stiles was able to see Brad leaving the office.

Stiles froze watching Brad. The shock was silencing. Thoughts raced through Stiles' head as he tried to find an explanation to the scene. Every moment he spent looking for answers, the more questions he would ask himself. Who is that? Does my dad know about all this? Is he the one in my head? Is he me or something? The lack of answers made Stiles feel angry. Just then the boy behind the deputy froze too. Stiles focused his attention on the sudden pause. The kid had not seen Stiles yet, John was in the way and his attention was on the deputy.

Brad could feel anger and confusion in the back of his mind, he knew something was off. The feelings were so strong and demanding he couldn't help but look for where they were coming from. He never felt it so strong before. He looked around at each person in the office looking for something or someone who would be causing this.

John saw Stiles freeze, he wasn't ignorant, he knew what would have caused it. He knew what was happening. In his mind he mapped out every possible direction this could head. None of the proposals in his head would work, he couldn't think of what to do. John turned to see how Brad was reacting, he shifted his body just enough out-of-the-way to give a clear line of sight between Brad and Stiles. Brad was standing several paces behind him. John could see him still looking around, but he quickly noticed Stiles and less than a second after John had turned to see Brad, he had already froze at the sight.

"Stiles are you o...oh" Scotts came into the office standing behind Stiles. His questioned dropped when he saw what Stiles was looking at. Isaac was still standing outside just behind Scott and couldn't tell if anything was happening.

Stiles and Brad stared at each other. The rest of the world fell away in Stiles' eyes. All he could see was the doppelgänger in front of him. He started walking to Brad, navigating his way around his dad and a desk to come face to face with Brad. He let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding in. Waving slightly awkwardly, Brad greeted Stiles as he walked up. Now standing in front of Bradley, Stiles waved back just as awkwardly. They didn't say anything, but there was no denying that they were having a conversation. In their head, a mix of confusion, wonder, and excitement transferred back and forth between them. They let their brains think up any emotion it could and they tested the limitations of their connection. They watched each other reactions intently figuring out what could be felt and what couldn't.

Neither could explain it, and neither really cared, all they knew is they found something they have been looking for since they were very young. They didn't know each others names or personality. Their history was unknown to each other, but in this moment they knew they found the closest person they had ever known.

Stiles thought back to ever sad moment in his life. The boy in front of him helped him through all that. This boy protected him and never even meet him. He let a feeling of gratitude and security fill his body and smiled when he felt the same thing come from the boy in front of him. Stiles knew he was thinking the same thing, feeling the same thing.

"Hi..." Stiles greeted, breaking the silence. He was still smiling. All the confusion and fear had melted away.

"...Hi" Brad replied. His face matched Stiles in every way. The same part opened mouth revealing the same teeth. The same two wrinkles of skin that formed when Stiles smiled that defined where his chin was. The same raided eyebrows, the left side being just barely higher than the right. Everything matched. Except the hair, Stiles never brushed his bangs to the right.

"Are...You feeling that?" Stiles asked, he let out an awkward laugh, he realized he sounded just as weird as he thought it was.

"..Ah...yeah...uh" Brad was surprised, everything going through his head told him this was happening, but it was not supposed to be possible.

"Um I'm Stiles." Stiles introduced himself. His mind was still racing with the question of just how much they could feel. When introducing himself, Stiles wondered if the boy would know who he really was. Stiles knew the boy in front of him was there when he lost his mother, not physically but he was their, because of that Stiles knew that this boy knew him before he changed. He wondered if that change could be felt. He hadn't known much more than how the boy was feeling, he wondered if that was the same. Stiles let his smile drop slightly as the thought of his mother opened a spot for the darkness to enter, he stopped it quickly.

"Oh, wow, that was weird" Brad stated, referring to the feeling of depression that quickly surged through his head. "What's wrong? Why did you feel that? I'm sorry if I caused it. I'm Brad by the way." Brad replied. When he heard Stiles introduce himself, he felt like something was wrong, he instantly felt the mood change to something sad..

"Wow, I didn't think that would make it to you." Stiles started, his face returned to the smile and his head cleared. "Uh yeah I was just thinking of some stuff." Stiles was fascinated by everything happening. All he wanted to do now is test the connection he has, he wanted to talk to Brad and figure out everything that was going on. He wanted to know what made Brad happy and sad. What was happening all those times Stiles drew on that security. More so Stiles wanted to know what had caused the loneliness he would feel. He wanted to know what had hurt the person who carried him through the toughest points in his life. Why he would go from a fire of warmth and comfort, then a cold pit of loneliness. Stiles forgot where he was, he was too focused on the excitement. Before anything else could be said, the reality of the situation came back into the light when the deputy stepped up behind Brad.

Looking at the deputy, Stiles realised something bad was going on. "Uh, dad?" Stiles asked looking from the deputy to his dad. His dad was still in shock at the sight but his attention was brought back by Rada stepping up to his side. "Sheriff, I did some questioning like you asked, several students confirmed the other boy started the confrontation, the parents dropping the charges." Rada whispered into Johns ear. He watched as the news eased John slightly.

"Deputy," John called over to the man behind Brad, waving him over. He didn't know where to begin with Brad and Stiles so he instead focused on his work. Brad and Stiles watched as the deputy walked away.

"Bradley, guess what, we stuck it to that smug..." Haley started as she made a victory walk out of the principal's office, she stopped when she saw Stiles.

"Bradley who's this?" She asked flat-out.

"Uh, I don't really know how to answer that mom." Brad let out an exasperated answer. Stiles waved at Haley.

"Um, dad?" Stiles called back to his father. John was avoiding making eye contact, instead he focused intently a conversation taking place between the principal and two deputies, he acted as though he didn't hear Stiles calling him.

Stiles took note of his dad's behaviour, he saw him purposefully ignoring Brad. Stiles knew when his dad would do things like this and he was a bit frustrated with his father for doing something like that. This situation was uncomfortable and he could have used a little support, but his dad decided to ignore him. Just then it dawned on Stiles that his father might know more than he's letting on.

"Dad!" Stiles yelled again, this time loud enough to catch the attention of the deputies. Rada tapped Johns shoulder, pointing out Stiles. John couldn't ignore the situation now. He accepted defeat and made his way over to Stiles.

"Dad, why are you avoiding me?" Stiles asked when John got closer.

"No, it's not that." John clarified.

"What aren't you telling me?" Stiles asked, picking up on his dads blatant attempt to occupy himself.

John let out a breath and looked up at Brad. Memories of his lost son filled his head. He thought about that day in the hospital; he remembered every detail. The thoughts grew heavy in his mind. He looked to the ground with sadness and his eyes started to tear up.

"Whoa, dad are you okay?" Stiles asked as he watched his dad's eyes moisten. "Dad?" Stiles asked again, placing an arm on his dad's shoulder and looking into his father in the eyes. "Dad, what happened?" Stiles asked quietly enough only his dad could hear him. Behind him Brad and Haley were talking through the shock of the situation. At the door, Isaac was now frozen staring at the unexplainable event unfolding in front of him. Scott was attempting to explain what the situation was, but he was failing miserably to lack of details.

"Stiles, it's not simple and it's not short." John warned. His voice was quiet and his eyes were still watery.

"Dad, tell me." Stiles pleaded slightly. He was still on the high of meeting Brad, but his dad's mood was bring him down.

John lightly grabbed Stiles' shoulder and walked him over to chairs that lined the exterior wall of the principal's office. He sat Stiles down in one of the chairs. Taking a short pause, John thought on where to start.

Deciding on a place, John started explaining to Stiles how he and Claudia where going to tell Stiles everything as he got older. John took a moment to rethink what he was going to say and told Stiles that after his mother's death, he couldn't do that. He tried to explain that he needed her help. John pleaded with his son, hoping Stiles would understand. Without her John knew It would be too hard to tell Stiles and he couldn't find that strength.

"Dad, you're freaking me out, what happened? What were you going to tell me? I don't understand." Stiles replied confused. His previous happiness was replaced with concern for his dad and worry over what he was saying. His dad just stared at him.

"Stiles you had a brother." John spoke quickly.

Stiles' head wrapped around the information. He immediately understood who Brad was or at least he thought he did. There was still a part that was missing, he could tell his dad was leaving it out. John watched his sons face as it made the connection and for a moment the confusion was washed away. Stiles looked to Brad with a small smile, but just as quick as that came, it went. Confusion washed over his face again and John knew what the question was going to be.

John preëmptively answered with "He was your twin." Stiles face grew even more confused. "Stiles, he died a few weeks after being born," John added without much warning. He wanted to explain to Stiles. He didn't want his son to be so confused. Stiles was horrified, John thought to himself how Stiles' reaction had not been better than the confusion, it hurt John more to see his sons physical display of pain caused by the sudden news.

Brad looked back and forth between his mom and Stiles as Stiles walked away with his dad. His mom's face was genuinely confused. She did not know who they were.

"Mom, was I adopted?" Brad asked outright. His face was plastered with a smile so the question didn't carry the serious demeanor it would have if Brad hadn't talk to Stiles first.

"Really? Are you serious? Did you just ask me that?" Haley asked surprised at the question.

Brads face broadened with disbelief as he pointed to Stiles then frantically gestured at himself, he didn't need any words, his gestures sent the message of 'we look exactly the same' very clearly.

"Hey hon, don't ask me, it seemed like I was more confused about this then you. I mean, you two were having a moment when I walked out." Haley replied with a sarcastic twist. The way she was standing and talking, Brad could tell she was trying to defuse a possibly awkward situation with subtle mom humor.

"Mom, really, this is kinda serious." Brad pointed out, but the smirk on his face told his mom he was enjoying her commentary. After a moment of smirking at each other, the mouths broke into a comforting smile and they each let out a small laugh. To Brad, this moment served to calm his nerves, there was no way this woman was not his mom.

Brad and his mom smiled at each other for a few more moments before turning to look over to Stiles and the sheriff. Brads attention was caught by the two confused boys standing at the entrance to the office. Scott and Isaac stared awkwardly at the double. Raising his hand, Scott greeted Brad uncomfortably as a response to making eye contact. Brad greeting him with a wave. Brad's returned wave made a friendly gesture.

Scott smiled at the return he had received. He knew it wasn't Stiles but the guy he was looking at moved just like Stiles and scott found it easy to grow warm to the guy. He watched Brad with a little more friendly curiosity and less uneasiness. He was about to grab Isaac and go to properly introduce himself but didn't get the chance. Brad suddenly turned to Stiles concerned. Scott recognized the face of concern, he had seen it on Stiles more times than he had wanted to; it was a face he never wanted to see. He looked over to Stiles and felt something drop inside him. He saw Stiles face go from confused to hurt too fast for comfort.

"Stiles are you okay?" Scott and Brad yelled over in concert. They looked at each other in confusion. Scott was weirded out by the strangers concern, he hadn't yet made the connection that this was the person Stiles was telling him about every time they talked about Stiles's strange feelings. Brad quickly figured out the boy who waved at him must be a friend of Stiles that came with him, that's why he reacted in the same way.

They look they gave to each other faded quickly. They didn't concern themselves with who they were, Stiles was distressed right now and that's what mattered. They both started walking briskly over to Stiles. Isaac stood at the door still. His face was completely frozen with confusion. He had no Idea what was happening and what little explanation Scott had attempted only served to create more confusion. Noticing Scott start moving, Isaac just followed. When he saw Stiles he figured out what Scott was doing.

Stiles saw Brad and Scott moving towards him. In his mind he scrambled for an explanation to give them. In his thought it suddenly hit him why his dad had avoided the situation. It dawned on him just how bad the situation is and just how bad his father was feeling. Stiles looked between his father and the women Brad was talking to. At first he correctly assumed it was Brad's mom, now he knew, Brad was not her kid and they didn't know that yet. Brad was the son his father lost.


	5. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Don't own teen wolf.

Beta'd

Chapter four

Danny watched the coach as he scribbled letters down on the chalkboard. He hadn't been able to pay much attention to anything since Scott and Stiles gave their bogus excuse to get out of class. He normally didn't concern himself with what Scott and Stiles were up to, but after the past couple weeks his interest in them had peaked.

"Hey, what'cha thinking about," Ethan whispered into Danny's ear. He was sitting behind Danny.

"Huh? Oh, nothing," Danny replied quietly turning to face Ethan. His focus was now completely shifted.

"Mmhmm," Ethan let out a sarcastic reply. "You haven't taken a single note this period. You are definitely thinking about something." Ethan pointed out the empty notebook on Danny's desk with a glance. Danny smiled slightly at how Ethan could easily noticed when something was up.

"It's not bad," Danny conceded to Ethan, "I just noticed that Stiles and Scott lied to get out of class and was wondering what for," he explained.

"Oh... um... I'm not sure," Ethan replied, it offered no help to Danny's issue.

"You don't think it's weird. I mean, they are involved in the strangest stuff, and after the whole…" Danny started.

"Danny! Ethan! I'm sorry, is my class getting in the way of your little…" The coach stopped unable to think of what to say, he looked at the class to make sure nobody was judging him, he was always very careful in what he said around Danny since the homecoming incident last year.

"No, coach. Sorry." Danny replied turning to focus on the board.

"After class." Ethan whispered quickly before refocusing on the board.

The bell rang signaling the end of the day. Danny and Ethan made their way to Lydia and Aiden.

"Hey, do you know where Scott and Stiles went?" Danny asked Lydia as they meet up in the hall.

"Uh, No. Why? Is he gone?" Lydia asked, her attention was on Aiden.

"He's worried," Ethan sounded as though he were joking. He smiled at Danny to ensure he wasn't offended.

"It's not even that. A lot of weird things happen and they usually have a part in it," Danny defended himself, avoiding the accusation of being worried.

"Who has a part in weird things?" Allison asked walking up behind Ethan and Danny.

"Who else?" Danny asked sarcastically.

"I'll call Scott," Allison replied, she figured out who they were talking about.

Stiles' sunk into the wooden chair. His dad's words were in his head but Stiles had not made any connections. He was thinking on them. He looked over to Brad as the words settled uncomfortably in his mind, it made him feel very uneasy. Stiles watched as Brad and Scott waved to each other.

New connections started forming in his brain, 'Brad was his brother', 'his brother didn't die', 'he lost his brother', 'his brother didn't know him or his family'. The thoughts raced quickly and Stiles' brain scrambled to wrap around each connection. At first the thought was exciting, he had a brother, but his feelings shifted quickly as the process continued. As the thoughts grew more depressing his feelings followed.

Brad took notice to his mood. Stiles watched him suddenly shift attention from Scott to him and start walking over. Scott was immediately on Brad's tail. Stiles tried to wrangle in his thoughts so that he could calm his mood for Brad's sake, but as he watched Brad close the distance between them, he made the biggest connection, Brad's mom was not his real mom.

Stiles looked at his dad and immediately understood why he was in distress. What would his dad do? Stiles looked back at Brad as he arrived, how could anybody explain the situation.

"Stiles, are you okay?" Brad asked. Scott was standing to Brad's side, they idly waited for an answer. Stiles' mouth was slightly agape.

"Uhh...nothing, I'm good. Yeah, no problem. What about you?" Stiles stumbled to assure he was fine. Scott wasn't having it though.

"Dude?" Scott started but could not finish because Stiles interrupted.

"I'm fine, I was just shocked." Stiles was a little more believable, he even had what looked like a genuine smile.

"Me too," Brad added nonchalantly. Scott nodded his head as he looked between the two.

John was still standing next to Stiles. He looked at Brad and just like Stiles he suppress his thoughts and emotions. He wrapped his head around everything he was feeling. He held back the urge to hug Brad and take back his son. He look at the woman who was now walking up to Brad. It was Brad's mom. The thought made John mentally shutter. He knew it wasn't her fault though, it couldn't have been.

"Hi, I'm Haley," She was now standing just behind Brad. Haley had her hand out for John to shake.

"John," He greeted while shaking her hand. There was an awkward tension between the two of them.

"So?" Haley looked over to Brad and Stiles. "Want to talk about the elephant in the room now or…" Haley left the question open-ended as she waited for a reply.

Stiles heard the question and his mind was torn between what to do. His curiosity wanted to know what they would talk while his better judgement told he should leave them alone. He never got to choose for himself. Instead Brad started to walk away, lightly tugging at Stiles shoulder as a sign to leave them. Stiles followed as the arm guided him towards the entrance to the office. Scott followed them, slightly confused as to why they left.

"Where would we even start?" John asked Haley, he watched the boys retreat, wishing he could do the same. He was not as blunt about the topic as Haley.

"Brad, take your friends and go tour the town together, be back home by ten," Haley yelled over to her son. Brad looked to Stiles and Stiles looked to his dad. John simply nodded to Stiles and sequentially Stiles nodded to Brad. The group of teenage boys made their way out of the office without commenting on John or Haley.

"So the beginning then? " John asked, taking note to the fact that Haley just cleared out nearly seven hours of time away from Stiles and Brad.

"I'm a mom and I was a wife, I can read when a guy is ignoring a situation and when he's hiding something. You know something about all this. So lets find a place to talk and get this all cleared up before we end up on some sort of reality show type custody battle." Haley wasn't intentionally sounding unfriendly, she was just right. John knew this and agreed with what she was saying. He could not deny the fact that when he first saw Brad, the thought of getting his son back filled his mind liberally. He hadn't even considered Haley until he told Stiles about his brother.

"There's a café a couple blocks from here, I passed it on my way over. I do know something, I think it's important we talk." John all but admitted and agreed to Haley.

Almost every part of John's mind told him to grab Stiles and just leave. He knew that wouldn't work, that there would be no forgetting this, but that wasn't what convinced him to talk with Haley. The part of his mind that was different, that told him to stay was the memory of his wife, and what she would want him to do. She would want John to find a way to give Stiles his brother and not at the cost of Brad's family.

Stiles, Scott, Brad, and Isaac all piled into the Jeep. They had been quiet since Haley told them to leave. Now as they sat in the Jeep, an uncomfortable feeling settled into each boy. The quiet had become incredibly awkward.

"So?" Isaac broke the silence. "I'm Isaac," He stretched his right arm across his chest to shake Brad's hand, right next to him. Scott grinned slightly at the comment, not enough to be noticed though.

"Brad," Brad shook Isaac's hand. The awkward silence slowly started creeping it's way into the car again.

Scotts phone suddenly rang. The ring was loud in the jeep and caught everybody's attention. It took Scott several moments of fumbling before he got his phone out. It was Allison. He answered it.

"Hey, Allison. What's up?" Scott asked as he connected the call.

"Not much, we were just wondering where you guys went, Danny was asking." Allison replied, in the background he could hear Danny correcting her and a few chuckles.

"...Uh...well…" Scott started as he stared back and forth between Stiles and Brad. He stopped on Stiles and silently pleaded for an answer to give. Stiles replied with dramatically shrugged shoulders. "We...left to go…" Scott fumbled for a lie but couldn't come up with anything. Isaac took the phone from him.

"Hey Allison, sorry Scott's kinda out of it right now, see Stiles is feeling pretty bad and Scott's focused on him. Stiles was feeling really depressed and we figured we could get his mind on something else." Isaac spoke so smoothly into the phone, Stiles almost believed it.

"Oh, Isaac, I didn't know you were with them. Well tell Stiles I'm here for him." Allison replied.

"I will, talk to you later, we need to get back to Stiles" Isaac ended the conversation, hanging up the phone and returning it to Scott.

Allison hung up the phone, returning it to her pocket.

"Those liars," She pointed out, looking to Lydia.

"What do you mean?" Aiden asked.

"I know Scott, he can't lie very well, before Isaac took the phone he had no idea what to say," Allison deduced.

"Then what are we going to do?" Lydia asked.

"..Uh...nothing…well see what they say tomorrow," Allison answered. She may have said do nothing, but immediately after leaving the conversation, she went to her car and headed to Stiles' place.

Peter stood in doorway to the empty husk of Derek's loft. It was empty now that Derek and Cora had left. He studied the empty room thinking back to everything that had happened. His eyes followed the water damaged floorboards, he could smell the mildew growing in each crack and crevice. Still scanning along, he focused on glass that littered the floor. His eyes stopped on a spot of dried, fading red. He questioned who the blood stain belonged to, was it Kali's, or maybe Boyd's blood never fully washed out.

It didn't matter now, he thought, as his mind attempted to fill in the scene of boyd's death. He was never told the details. Pity really, his mind consoled, Boyd was strong, he would be an important part of my pack. Peter's eyes glowed blue at the thought.

"Is anybody there?" A flash of light scanned the hallway just outside the loft.

An officer with a flashlight stepped under the caution tape that crossed over the opening to the loft. He scanned his flashlight across the room. The broken glass reflected as the light moved over.

"Must of been hearing things," The officer spoke into the room before turning around to leave. Grabbing his radio, the deputy reported to his partner, that the room was empty. "Wow, that teacher really screwed this place up." The officer added before leaving.

As the officer left the room, Peter reappeared from a dark section of the adjacent room. As he made his way out of the loft he turned back one last time.

"Derek, you left just in time to miss all the fun," He spoke into the darkness "It's probably for the better. Wouldn't want you joining Scott's little band of misfits." Peter made his way out of the building and into his car.

Allison was less than a block from Stiles' house when she noticed Peter stepping out of a car. She immediately pulled out of sight and investigated. She watched as Peter stealthy scoped out Stiles' house before breaking into Stiles' room. Allison couldn't see him after he slipped in through Stiles' window. She attempted to move to get a better view and broke eye contact with Stiles' room to move to a better spot, but when she looked back Peter was already getting in his car. Allison ran back to her car to follow him but by the time she started her car Peter was already out of sight.

After Isaac got off the phone, Stiles started his jeep and left the school parking lot.

"Where we goin'?" Scott asked as Stiles made a few turns.

"Not sure, but I have a lot of questions," Stiles replied.

"I bet," Isaac chimed in, he was curiously focused on Brad though.

"Yeah, I would like to know some stuff too," Brad quietly added. He had been watching how Stiles, Scott and Isaac interacted with each other, they all understood each other. He was the stranger and didn't know what he could say. "...Um, we could just head to my place," He offered as Stiles drove down a random street.

"I like that, we'll do that," Stiles accepted the offer.

After a few wrong turns, Stiles finally pulled into Brad's driveway. The house was fairly large and reminded Stiles of Jackson's house. It was two stories and had a four car garage. The entrance to the house extended out and had white pillars on either side of the front door. The house was made of a dark grey stone with White trim. The lawn was large and hosted several orange and apple trees. The grass was a dark green and trimmed. Hedges lined the front yard. Stiles craned his neck to look at the whole house as Brad lead them to the door.

"This house is really nice," Isaac commented as they walked into the house.

"I like my dad's more, this one is too big and not very homey" Brad admitted. As he thought about his dad he looked down. Stiles, who was still looking around at the interior of the house, placed a hand reassuringly on his shoulder.

"My room isn't unpacked yet but there is a game room on the second floor, we can hang out in there." Brad lead them to the stairs. "Does anybody want something to eat or drink?" He offered as they stopped at the stairs. The reply was a mess of 'nah' and head shakes.

They made their way to a room two doors down from Brad's room. The room was roughly the size of Brad's room, if not slightly larger. Hanging on the wall that was adjacent to the entry was 84" 4k Toshiba flat screen TV with two speakers on either side and one just below it. Looking around the room, there were 7 total speakers, a large sectional microfiber couch, a small bar section with four stools complete with a mini fridge, and one cabinet built into the wall parallel to the couch. Scott and Stiles stood in awe at the room.

After the initial shock, the boys took a seat at the bar. Brad started by explaining that his father was a high up contractor for a private military contracting services, and that his mother, now retired, was a very smart women and made a lot of right choices in the stock market. He explained why he had moved. After a few moments talking with the whole group, Scott and Isaac made their way out of the room so that Brad and Stiles could talk more privately.

"It's really weird," Stiles began right after Scott and Isaac closed the door. "Everything you've told me so far matches up with the things I was feeling. I can't explain it."

"I know what you mean, growing up I would feel different from what I was supposed to. I'd feel scared for someone unknown, or sad, or happy, but it didn't match with was happening around me." Brad explained.

They talked shortly about the past few years and lined up events with how they had felt. Stiles opted out of telling Brad about the real events of the last two years and instead used the police's story. Brad didn't question it, but Stiles still didn't know if he or Brad knew when each other was Brad told Stiles about the severe depression he fell into, Stiles could not help but feel bad. He knew exactly what caused Brads depression, he felt bad for lying about it, but it was necessary

Stiles never found a way to fully control the darkness. His friends helped but it was always there. He took the brunt of it at first because he didn't know who it might affect, now he does and after hearing what happened to Brad, he promised himself that it would not happen again.

The thought that he had caused Brad so much sadness sat guilty in the forefront of Stiles' mind. The more he felt guilty the more he could feel the darkness grow. He immediately tried to refocus his mind, looking back to Brad. The darkness subsided slightly. Stiles took mental notes of what gave it strength and added it to the list of other things he had noticed. Sadness, pain, anger, guilt, and even pride all gave the darkness a larger presences. His eyes fell to the ground as he thought more on what gave the darkness strength. Just focusing on it was enough to cause pain.

"Stiles?" Brad ducked his head into stiles line of sight so he could make eye contact. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah I'm fine, I was just thinking. Where were we?" Stiles successfully refocused on Brad.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Brad asked again.

"Yeah, I'm good. Why do you ask?" Stiles reassured, asking for clarification.

"You just kind of looked down at the ground and started drawing with you finger on the counter, and I felt really...empty? I think." Brad tried to find a word that would explain what he felt

"What do you mean?" Stiles asked, looking to the countertop where his hands were. There was a faint trail of oil from his fingers.' A ring within a ring' Stiles thought as he looked at the image he drew.

"You like blanked out and started tracing on the counter. I think you mumbled something but I'm not sure." Brad sounded worried. "Should we go get Scott and Isaac?" Brad asked.

"Um, yeah, ok," Stiles agreed, he was still looking at the mark on the table, 'Scott's tattoo, the nemeton' he thought while standing up.


End file.
